Country Bumpkin Explained

"Country Bumpkin" is a song written by Don Wayne,^[2] and recorded by American country music artist Cal Smith.^[3] It was released in February 1974 as the first single and title track from the album Country Bumpkin. The song was Smith's second number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of ten weeks on the country chart.^[4]

In 1974, "Country Bumpkin" received Song of the Year Awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.

Content

The song has three verses:

• In the first a rural gentleman walks into a bar, where one of the barroom girls refers to him as a "country bumpkin" (a common nickname for a person from a rural area^[5]) as she talks to him.
• The second verse discusses the woman (now married to the man) giving birth to her (only) son a year later.
• The third verse discusses her impending death 40 years later, with her husband and son present at her bedside.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1974/75)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6]	23
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	2

Year-end charts

Notes and References

1. Grein . Paul . What's the Most Honored Country Recording of All Time? Let's Figure It Out . . 7 July 2020.
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20150703030927/http://www.cmt.com/news/1670684/don-wayne-country-bumpkin-songwriter-dies-at-78/ CMT
3. Web site: Cooper . Peter . Cal Smith, voice of 'Country Bumpkin,' dies at age 81 . USA TODAY.
4. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 317.
5. Web site: Country-bumpkin Meaning | Best 1 Definitions of Country-bumpkin.
6. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 278.
7. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1975. . 79 . . December 29, 1975 . January 15, 2022 .